


Our True Selves

by JynxFire



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Developing Friendships, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Self-Hatred, Toujou is still Team Mom, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-02-01 07:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12700101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JynxFire/pseuds/JynxFire
Summary: "I'm really sorry, Harukawa-san. I know you must be really confused." Shirogane glanced over at the other two people who had once called her 'friend.' "I know youallmust be confused, but please let me explain. The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, Monokuma, the killing game-It wasn't real. All of that was fake!"The words rang in Saihara's ears for a moment. "...fake?" He suddenly felt lightheaded. There was no way any of that wasfake.No, the pain he had felt during the discovery of every dead body and after every class trial were all too real.





	1. It Was All Fake

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man, here's a fic I've been thinking of for a little while now. I've been kinda nervous to write it since I've never written for so many characters before and honestly, I don't think my writing itself to be all that great. However, my love for Danganronpa and my desire to tell a story outweighed my timidness, so here we are.  
> Anyway, thank you so much for giving my fic a shot and here's to hoping this turns out as good as it sounds in my head!

Saihara closed his eyes and let the sunlight wash over him. He was alive. Against all odds, he, Yumeno, and Harukawa were _alive_. They had beaten the mastermind. They had gotten the audience on their side.

They had stopped the cycle of pointless killing.

The next step wasn't going to be easy. Three young students with fabricated identities were about to face a world they didn't really belong in. It was an unsettling thought, to say the least. Yet Saihara couldn't help but feel...optimistic.

Strange. Optimism wasn't really a trait he was known for. Perhaps Akamatsu and Momota had rubbed off on him more than he had originally thought. A bittersweet smile found its way on the detective's lips. If it weren't for Team Danganronpa and their brutal killing game, they'd still be alive. They'd still be living their normal lives away from senseless murder, but he would have never met them. He wouldn't have met anyone that he considered a friend. It was an unfair, complicated feeling that he could do nothing about.

Well, there might be something he could do. It wouldn't be much- far less than he wished he could offer, but it was something. And he wasn't alone, either.

With Yumeno and Harukawa by his side, he would keep the memory of their friends alive.

With Yumeno and Harukawa by his side, he would constantly remind the world what was lost.

 

With Yumeno and Harukawa by his side...

...

With... Yumeno and...

...and Harukawa....

...

..by his..

...

...

..

..side?

 

The warmth of the sun was gone and a sudden chilling loneliness was left hanging in the air.

Saihara couldn't open his eyes. He tried opening his mouth to speak but no noise came out. In fact, it didn't even feel like he  _had_ a mouth. Or a body, for that matter. He felt as though he was an aimlessly floating consciousness. What was...going on?

Any and all thoughts were interrupted by a sudden splitting headache. So much so that it felt like his head was going to literally split apart. He could feel the rest of his body again, too.

Oh, he so dearly wished he couldn't.

Every nerve was screaming. 

Screaming.

Begging for the pain to stop.

Or perhaps he was the one screaming. He honestly couldn't tell. Nothing felt real, yet everything felt all _too_ real at the same time.

And then, just when he didn't think he could take anymore, just when he thought the sheer pain alone would kill him;

It stopped.

Saihara opened his eyes. He was greeted with darkness. However, this was simply due to the fact that there was something covering his sight. Even though every part of his body weighed a ton, he moved his arm. Numbness coursed through it as a result. A light headache still persisted as well but he could not care less about either of those things if he tried. Taking off whatever blocked his vision, he was met with a dimly lit room. His heart dropped immediately. He _recognized_ this place. It was the computer room that was in the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles and where Iruma Miu met her untimely end. His eyes fell on the headset that was in his hands before shooting back up to his surroundings.

The giant computer that held the Neo World Program was in the middle of the room. Sixteen chairs, if he counted his own, were circled around it. There also seemed to be other people present. He recognized three of them. Two were still in their chairs, looking about as confused as Saihara was. The other was slowly approaching him. There were many emotions that were bubbling up within him as they moved closer. The most noticeable ones however were a dumbfounded shock and a blinding fury.

"Hello, Saihara-kun." Shirogane Tsumugi wore a timid smile. "I'm happy to see you awake."

During a more stable frame of mind, he would be questioning what was going on and how it was possible for Shirogane to be standing in front of him. She died. He  _saw_ her die.

However, his mind was anything but stable right now. He was shaking. Shaking from pure anger. How _dare_ she, the mastermind of the killing game and the one who caused so much death and despair, walk up to him like everything was completely fine.

He...he wanted to...

Well, he wanted to do what Harukawa ended up doing.

At some point while neither of them were paying attention, Harukawa had leapt out of her chair and now had her fingers tightly curled around Shirogane's throat. " _You_..."Her crimson eyes shot daggers into the other girl.

"-Ack! Ha..Harukawa-san!" 

The people Saihara didn't recognize ran over to defuse the scene. It took him a second to realize they must be some sort of doctors and nurses by the way they were dressed. "Harukawa-san!" one of them yelled. "Please calm down!" They easily pulled her off of Shirogane; far more easily than the assassin seemed to expect.

She struggled to get out of their grasp before her legs gave out, forcing her to instead reluctantly rely on them so she wouldn't fall. The look of hatred did not leave her face as she growled,  "why am I so weak? What the _hell_ did you do to me?"

Shirogane spoke up after lightly rubbing where her assailant's hands had been. "Ah, don't worry. You'll get some strength back the more you stretch your muscles. It's been a fairly long time since you've moved." The pigtailed girl slightly tilted her head at that. It was apparent that that wasn't an adequate enough explanation for her and frankly, Saihara felt the same.

"I'm really sorry, Harukawa-san. I know you must be really confused." She glanced over at the other two people who had once called her 'friend.' The pause gave Saihara a moment to do the same, allowing him notice Yumeno. She had curled herself up into a fetal position on her chair. He would have gone over to comfort her if it weren't for the scene occurring in front of him. "I know you _all_ must be confused, but please let me explain. The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, Monokuma, the killing game-

It wasn't real. All of that was fake!"

The words rang in his ears for a moment. "...fake?" He suddenly felt lightheaded. There was no way any of that was _fake._ No, the pain he had felt during the discovery of every dead body and after every class trial were all too real.

Harukawa's voice was quiet. "What do you mean it was 'fake'?"

The cosplayer gestured towards the computer. "We were in the Neo World Program the entire time." Her eyes looked around the room as if the words she wanted to use to continue explaining were floating around her. "It's a little different than how it functioned in the second season of Danganronpa. This one was specifically built for a setting in which death occurred." A sudden look of pride flashed on her face which only made Saihara's bewilderment morph to rage. "Team Danganronpa even recently updated it! We used to use these outdated pods but the amount of time a contestant would remain in their comatose like sleep after they died in the program became way too dangerous. After a bit of remodeling, the contestants now wake up right after their death or, like what happened with you three, once the season is over! It's made things far less stressful in the long run-"

"Shut up." Harukawa once again did what Saihara wanted to do and cut Shirogane off. "Do you honestly think we _care_ about the backstory of your little program? After everything you put us through?" If she wasn't already being held back, she would have most likely lunged at Shirogane again.

"W-wait!" Yumeno finally spoke up. She still had her legs pulled up to her chest but her head had shot up from between her knees. "You said a contestant wakes up after they...died in the the program. Does...does that mean...?"

Saihara's heart skipped a beat. That should have been one of the first things to come to mind! If the killing game didn't actually happen then.... _then_...

Shirogane smiled. It seemed that she was waiting for that topic to pop up. "Yes, all of our friends are alive.

In fact, I'm sure they're anxiously waiting to see us again as we speak."


	2. Familiar Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The door slowly slid open. Saihara could feel Yumeno grab onto his hand. Hers was clammy. He could also feel her shaking. He looked over at Harukawa, thought for a moment, and then offered his free hand to her. She stared at him for a few seconds before accepting it.
> 
> This was it.
> 
> They were actually going to see everyone again.
> 
> Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward.

There was...so much to process.

After a few moments taken to make sure they could all walk after such a long time of inactivity, Shirogane had ushered the small group to the door. She was talking about things Saihara really didn't find important. He caught her saying something about Team Danganronpa wanting contestants to be able to wake up in a familiar surrounding which was why the virtual reality had a room that looked like one in the real world. A part of him wanted to tell her that was pointless since a few of them hadn't even _seen_ the computer room, but he decided it wasn't worth the air he'd use to argue. Besides, all he wanted to do was see his departed friends again. He...he wanted to see _her_ again.

As the door opened it was quickly apparent that it was actually an elevator; an elevator that looked much too similar to the one they'd have to ride in for trials. A sigh escaped Saihara. Oh, _great._ If the theme of the rooms in the real world mimicking the fake one continued like this, he just might go crazy. Harukawa's and Yumeno's feelings seemed mutual by the faces they were making. When they and a few nurses entered the elevator, Saihara noted that this was just one of many floors in this building. Shirogane hit the button for the bottom floor as she continued rambling. Meanwhile, he continued to tune her out. Why she felt the need to continue speaking, he didn't know. It was obvious that no one wanted to look at her right now let alone hear her.

His mind started to wander as the elevator slowly descended. He began wondering what he'd actually do when he came face to face with the others. Would he break down crying? Would he feel too emotionally overwhelmed to even react? And if he somehow did stay composed enough to talk, what would he say? What _could_ he say? Only time would tell, he guessed. 

Oh, and he mustn't forget; there was also that teeny tiny fact that every one of their personalities were completely fabricated. It was a topic that'd been slowly gnawing away at him but he just couldn't bring himself to ponder it for more than a couple seconds. He knew full well that he'd need to address it at some point but...he just wasn't ready to face that truth about himself yet.

How are the others coping with it? _Are_ they coping with it?

...No, he couldn't think about that right now. He needed to take this insanity one step at a time.

"-but anyway, there's some things you're going to need to know before we get to see everyone else." Saihara snapped back to reality. Oh yeah, Shirogane was still talking, though it seemed like she moved onto a topic that might be worth listening to. He also just realized that they were no longer moving but the elevator door was still closed.

"Nyeh?" If Yumeno still had her witch hat, she'd probably be lightly tugging on the brim of it right now. "Couldn't you have brought this up earlier?"

Harukawa frowned. "I agree with Yumeno. Why waste our time? If what you're going to tell us is so important that we can't see the others yet, you should have brought it up first."

"I'm sorry," Shirogane bowed her head. "I'm just following protocol. The others should have gone through this too." She took their silence as her cue to tell them what they 'need to know.'

"Alright," she began. "Past this door is where you'll be staying until Team Danganronpa believes you are ready to reenter society. The fifteen of you, plus myself if you ever have any questions, will all be living together." That...didn't seem like a great idea if Saihara was being honest. To put it plain and simply, some of the group did not get along. Forcing them to live with one another, _especially_ after everything that happened, sounded like a recipe for disaster. By the look on Shirogane's face, even she seemed to notice how flawed the whole thing sounded when she said it out loud. It made him wonder if she had just blindly gone with whatever Team Danganronpa told her to do. Probably, because it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than them that this was a good idea. "This floor was specifically designed for Danganronpa participants so there should be plenty of space for all of us. Not to mention there's a lot of rooms to visit! Yeah, so even if things start off rocky, there should be enough space that we could temporarily avoid others if needed!

...Oh, and there's one room I really need to highlight. It's the Therapist's Office." She looked away from the trio for a moment. "You don't have to see them but...it's _highly_ recommended." It...probably would be a good idea to give them a visit. Then again, he didn't really trust anyone who worked in this building. "One of the main reasons why you should at least consider visiting them is because you should be slowly getting back your _true memories_ as time goes on." Their true memories!? "They should be able to help you sort them out between those and the ones you were given in the virtual reality."

With her interest now piqued, Harukawa asked, "how long will it take us to get all of our memories back?"

Shirogane shrugged. "Honestly, the easiest way to put it is that it's completely random. At first, Team Danganronpa had believed that the people who woke up first would also be the ones to get their memories back first. It seemed logical at the time. However, we learned early on that that wasn't the case. We've had many cases where the first person awake didn't remember a thing until a few weeks later, while one of the last awake remembered things after only a few days."

Saihara found himself in an interesting position. Of course he wanted to have his real memories back as soon as possible, but at the same time....his mind flashed back to that audition video of himself. If that is who the real Saihara Shuuichi was, maybe it would be better not to recall anything right away.

"I'd like to point out that there's also a medical office," one of the nurses cut in. She sounded a little too chipper for Saihara's liking. "We will be standing by for the first few weeks in case something happens. After that, there should be buttons in each room to notify a doctor at once in case of emergencies."

One could practically see a question mark appear over Yumeno's head. "In case something happens...? Emergencies...?"

The other nurse nodded. "Yes. It isn't uncommon for certain...side effects to occur after experiencing the virtual reality."

Huh? Did he hear that nurse right? Surely they would have brought something like that up right away-

_"There are side effects!?"_

Well, guess he did hear correctly after all.

After her outburst, the magician looked dejectedly at the floor and mumbled, "what a pain...."

"Ah! Not all of them are bad, Yumeno-san!" Shirogane cut in before anyone else could comment on the subject. "And since you survived the entire season, you shouldn't get any of the more worrying ones!"

Yeah sure, that was all well and good for _them_ _,_ but what about the others?

There was a dangerous glint in Harukawa's eyes. "What,  _exactly,_ are the side effects?" 

The cerulean haired girl put up her hands defensively. "Erm, W-well..." After regaining her composure, she put a smile on her face. "There's a good possibility that we're all still proficient in our respected talents!" Genuine excitement started bubbling up in her voice. "Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say we're Ultimates anymore, but a lot of past contestants have become famous for using their talents in the real world!"

"S-seriously!?" Saihara didn't know how to react to that. He...guessed it made sense? Everything from the simulation was still fresh in his mind, including what he knew about detective work. However, he wasn't exactly eager to try out his talent anytime soon. In fact, he didn't think he'd _ever_ use it again if he could help it.

"What about the 'worrying' side effects?" Harukawa sounded calm. He had a hunch that she was feeling the opposite.

Shirogane let out a sigh before resting her head on her hand. "Those are...a little more complicated...

Everyone wakes up feeling about the same as the four of us feel right now," which was absolutely exhausted, "but after a few days...those of us that died will start experiencing varying effects. I, for example, might wake up one day unable to move because my bones will feel like....they'd been crushed..." Saihara thought of the cosplayer's fate. Images of the different deaths he'd witnessed flashed through his mind as well. How terrible... Even after the killing game was over, there was still going to be suffering. Saihara shook his head. He didn't think he could hate Team Danganronpa more. There they go proving him wrong. Glancing over, he saw Harukawa lightly pulling at one of her pigtails while Yumeno was still looking at the floor. "Again, it varies. It's completely possible any pain we feel is mild!" Shirogane attempted to look reassuring. "I'm holding out hope for that, at least."

Sensing the somberness envelop the elevator, Shirogane cleared her throat and said, "Okay! Those were the main things you needed to know. Let's go see our friends!"

W-wait! She can't just tell them all of that then expect them to be ready to see everyone! She'd already pushed one of the elevator buttons before he could actually voice this.

The door slowly slid open. Saihara could feel Yumeno grab onto his hand. Hers was clammy. He could also feel her shaking. He looked over at Harukawa, thought for a moment, and then offered his free hand to her. She stared at him for a few seconds before accepting it.

This was it.

They were actually going to see everyone again.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward.

He didn't have any expectations, yet they were still exceeded. Everyone was there. A few of them were much farther away from the main group, but everyone was there. Everyone was _alive._

"T... _Tenko!!_ " Saihara could feel Yumeno's hand leave his. She was sobbing as she ran over to Chabashira and pulled her into a tight hug.

Chabashira didn't miss a beat and hugged the shorter girl back. Her eyes were watery and she sniffed, "Tenko missed Yumeno-san so _so_ much! Tenko doesn't want to leave her side ever again!"

"Nyahaha~" Yonaga cheerfully skipped over to the pair. "Angie knew we'd meet again, Himiko! Kami-sama said so!" Yumeno turned her head to look at Yonaga, then outstretched her hand for the other girl to take it. The artist's smile widened and she joined the hug.

Saihara could feel himself smiling until someone walked in front of him and Harukawa. The person had a huge grin on their face.

"Hey Shuuichi, Harumaki. How're my favorite sidekicks doing?" Saihara opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. Momota threw his arms around the both of them.

"Y-you...." Harukawa sounded like she was trying with all her might to keep her composure. "You're....such an idiot. A-and I don't remember ever being your sidekick." 

Momota chuckled. "Yeesh, Harumaki! I can't believe you insulted me in the first five seconds! And here I thought it would at least be a minute before that happened. Now I owe Hoshi and Amami money!"

"I told you I was only joking about the bet, but if you want to give me money anyway that's fine by me." Hoshi was leaning up against a wall with his arms crossed. It was odd to see him without his hat on.

"I wasn't joking," Amami joined in on the conversation. "I'll take payment whenever."

"Perhaps it would have been more appropriate not to bet at all," Toujou sighed.

Iruma put her hands on her hips. "You fuckers don't even _have_ any money to begin with!" She then let out a laugh. "I guess you'll just have to repay them in other ways, if ya know what I mean!"

"Erm...sorry Iruma-san, but I have a feeling I do not wish to 'know what you mean'." Kiibo scratched the back of his head.

Saihara had to do a double take. He couldn't help but notice how.... _non-robotic_  Kiibo looked. 

Gonta spoke up next. "Yes, it would be much better for you not to know what she was talking about, Kiibo-kun!" He sighed. "I'm...not very happy that I do know what she meant."

What....the....hell...!?

...Maybe it would be best to just store these sudden and shocking new developments for later. His brain was working hard enough trying to process that this was actually happening and not just some dream.

Ignoring the commotion behind him, Momota let go of Saihara and Harukawa and gave them a thumbs up. He was saying something, but Saihara could no longer hear him. 

Patiently standing a few steps away from him was Akamatsu. She smiled when she realized he noticed her.

Saihara's legs moved on autopilot and he slowly made his way over to her. His mouth was dry.

"Hey, Saihara-kun." Say something to her. "I'm...I'm glad to see you again." Say _anything_ to her! There was so much he _wanted_ to say, but the words just wouldn't come together coherently.

He lowered his head. Now that he finally had the chance to speak with her again, he couldn't say anything. Akamatsu put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. When he gazed back up at her, she was still smiling sweetly.

...He knew what to tell her. It'd been something he had wished he could say for awhile now.

"Thank you."

She blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"For...for everything. If it weren't for you I..." he wiped his eyes. "I wouldn't-"

"Okay everyone, could I please get your attention?" All eyes turned towards the elevator.

_Shirogane._

He'd completely forgotten about her. Why did she have to make her presence known _now_ of all times? At this point, it seemed as though her main goal was to be disliked as much as humanly possible.

"I'm so happy that you all seem to be getting along! However, Saihara-kun, Harukawa-san, and Yumeno-san need to get some rest." She scanned the room. "Same goes for you, Kiibo-kun!"

She was met with silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Saihara noticed there was a giant TV. Displayed on the screen was _'Thank you for watching Danganronpa V3.'_ That explained the mutual feeling of anger the room shared. Admittedly, it was relieving to know that he, Harukawa, Yumeno, and Kiibo weren't the only ones who knew about Shirogane's cruel deeds.

Naturally, Momota was the first to speak up. "What the hell makes you think we're gonna listen to _anything_ you have to say?!"

"Though I agree that those four, and _you,_ I might add, should get proper rest after what they have been through," Toujou spoke calmly, not wanting the situation to escalate. "You must understand that you are apart of an organization that made quite a number of us do..." She flinched as she recalled a memory, "...regrettable things."

There was sadness in Shirogane's eyes. "You're right. You all experienced awful things because of me and Team Danganronpa," she bit her lip. She seemed to be debating whether she should actually continue speaking. "But please remember that you all volunteered!" Looking away from everyone, she mumbled, "I..I'm sorry," and quickly walked past the group and out of the room. No one stopped her.

There was...something very strange with the way she had just acted. Saihara really wanted to discuss it with the others, but now that all the excitement was gone his body reminded him of just how exhausted he felt.

Yumeno let out a yawn. "She was right about one thing..... because I'm really sleepy..."

"Tenko can carry Yumeno-san to her room!" Chabashira exclaimed before looking suddenly sheepish. "If...if you want her to, anyway."

Yumeno looked at her for a moment before replying, "if that's what you want to do, you can." They weren't hugging anymore but Yumeno was holding onto the other's arm, as if she's suddenly disappear if she let her go.

"You should get to bed, too." Akamatsu said to Saihara. "We'll have plenty of time to talk when you wake up."

"But...I..." Akamatsu gave him a stern look. He sighed in defeat, knowing he lost even before he could begin arguing. "Alright."

She smiled again. "Goodnight, Saihara-kun."

"Goodnight, Akamatsu-san."

"By they way, you look good without your hat."

He felt his cheeks get warm so he quickly turned away from her. "Th-thanks..." She giggled. Did she say that just so she could make him feel embarrassed? He was...alright with that, actually.

He couldn't stop himself from taking one more look around the room. He didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid that the next time he woke up, he'd be back at The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles. He told himself not to worry about it, that this was in fact _real,_ but he still wanted to remember this moment... _just in case_.

There were two things he noticed as he took his last look. The first was that Shinguuji was nowhere to be seen. Saihara knew he had seen him when he first stepped out of the elevator, but he couldn't find a reason to pay much attention to him after that. Though, thinking about it now, he also realized that since he'd gotten there, he hadn't heard the anthropologist say a word. Then again, Saihara hadn't been here for _that_ long. Perhaps he simply didn't have anything to say.

The other thing he noticed was that Ouma was staring right at him. He looked....upset. The boy's eyes widened when Saihara made eye contact with him. His expression then quickly changed to a smile and he waved. Saihara hesitantly waved back. Odd, Ouma had stayed pretty quiet the entire time, too. That was suspicious, because he _always_ had something to say whether anyone liked it or not.

Like the Shirogane thing however, he was too tired to think that hard about it.

He watched Chabashira turn down a hallway as she carried Yumeno. It was the same direction Shirogane had gone. That must be where their dorms were. Walking past a still chatting Momota and Harukawa, he wished them goodnight. They did the same, though Momota did add, "I hope you're ready for more training sessions, Shuuichi! When you wake up, you better believe I'm bringin' them back!!"

"Can't wait for it." With that, he dragged himself to his room. The hall he went down had sixteen doors, eight on each side. Both sides had Danganronpa wallpaper. The right was of _Danganronpa: Tigger Happy Havoc_ while the left was _Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair_. It was designed in such a way that each character could be seen. As he reached the end of the hall, he also noted that not only was each side separated between boys and girls, with boys being on the right, but the rooms were also in alphabetical order by last name.

When Saihara reached the second to last door at the end of the hall, he saw an additional door he hadn't initially seen a little farther down. It was labeled 'Gymnasium'. That was probably where Momota planned on having their training sessions. As he turned his attention back to his door, he realized that the part of the wallpaper that was next to it was of Kirigiri Kyoko. _Oh,_ Team Danganronpa was just having a laugh at this point, weren't they? He frowned and angrily entered his dorm room.

He expected the room to look exactly the same as the one in the virtual world, but was pleasantly surprised that it didn't. It looked like even Team Danganronpa knew where to draw a line. _Good,_ because he would have turned right around and slept on one of the couches in the main room if it had been any different. Sure, it bore similarities such as a personal bathroom and a mounted monitor on the wall, but everything else was normal. Well, _almost_ everything else. There was a large cabinet in the room that seemed to hold a variety of books, newspapers, and other random things.

_'There's a good possibility that we're all still proficient in our respected talents!'_

If he had to guess, the cabinet was filled with things related to detective work. They _seriously_ thought to dedicate a corner of his room to a fake talent he wanted nothing to do with?

He was...far too tired for this.

Turning his back on... _that_ , he went over to his bed. Just before he could lay on it, there was a knocking on the door. A small part of him wanted to ignore it, but he shushed that thought and answered it. To his surprise, it was Ouma.

"Oh...uhm, hi Ouma-kun." There wasn't much he wanted to say to the boy. As much as he was going to have to remind himself for the rest of however long they'll be forced to stay here that what Ouma had done during the killing game wasn't all his fault, he still couldn't help but feel angry with him.

Putting his hands behind his head, he hummed, "hey, Saihara-chan~!" He wore a big grin. "I wanted to talk to you while I still had a chance! I'm sure Momota-chan and Harukawa-chan won't let me later. Bullies."

"Uhm-"

"Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for stopping that boring, stupid killing game. You sure showed Team Danganronpa, huh?" He laughed. "Nishishi~ I hope we can continue being friends now that it's all over!"

All Saihara could do was tilt his head. He didn't know why he was shocked that Ouma was acting like he hadn't done anything wrong. It should be suspected at this point. Sigh, he _knew_ Ouma had been acting suspicious earlier.

"-But maybe I'm lying." Huh? The boy's smile was gone. "It'd probably better if I stayed away from you, right? You probably didn't even consider me a friend to begin with, right?" What...was he up to? "That's okay, Saihara-chan. I don't blame you." Ouma slumped his shoulders and looked down sadly. "I did some awful stuff."

"W-well..."

"So it's settled then!" His tone sure perked back up quickly. "I'll leave you alone and we'll _totally_ never talk to each other again. Phew, I'm glad we cleared that up!" He waved as he began walking away. "Welp, it was nice seeing you again! Bye!"

"Wha-? Cleared up-? Hey _wait!_ " Ouma had already made his exit. It was easy since their rooms were right next to each other. He debated on just knocking on his door and asking what the _hell_ that was all about. That might have been Ouma's goal for all he knew. Instead of doing that, he just rubbed his temples.

_He was far too tired for this._

Saihara closed his door and collapsed onto his bed. He just wanted to sleep. After that, maybe he'd be able to clearly think about everything that had happened today. Thankfully, sleep came mercifully fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank each and every one of you because I honestly was not expecting so much positively when I had posted the first chapter. You guys are so nice and I really appreciate all of you! I hope I can meet your expectations continuing on. :)  
> Also yay a happy reunion! I wonder how long it'll last~


End file.
